Nebulizer



Dec. 4, 1962 F. A. DE MELFY 3,066,669

NEBULIZER Filed June 8. 1959 2 Shee'cs--Shee'fI ,l

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QTTORNEV Dec. 4, 1962 F, A DE MELFY 3,066,669

NEBULIZER Filed June 8, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 e l /Lfg' 'f INVENTOR. 5%6' @wk f4. @Me/ffy A TTORNE V5.

3,665,569 Patented Dec. 4, 1962 3,065,669 NEBULZER Frank A. De Melfy,2743 Charlotte, Kansas City, Mo. Filed June 8, 1959, Ser. No. 818,743 1Claim. (Cl. 12S-194) This invention relates to improvements in medicalappliances and particularly to a combination nebulizer and insuiator,the primary object being to provide an instru ment which is constructedto assure positive and faultless operation over long periods of time andwithout substantial contamination of the medicaments contained therein.

Treatment of many types of illnesses requires the use of an appliancefor the inhalation or inward application of vaporized medicaments ineither powdered or liquid form. In many instances, such as in the caseof certain asthmatic and bronchial conditions, it is imperative that theinstrument used to provide relief be completely free of all defects andnot subject to breakdown, for it is conceivable that in the event ofclogging of the appliance, or because of other defects, the patientcould suffocate or at least become violently ill before repair of theinstrument could be made. Furthermore, because of the frequency of useof the appliance, it is a requisite that the medicament containedtherein be maintained in a sterile condition notwithstanding thepatients frequently breathing into the apparatus.

One type of substantially trouble-free combination nebulizer `andinsufilator is shown in my U.S. Letters Patent No. 2,829,642, but thisappliance cannot be readily converted for use in application or inhalingof both powders and liquids nor does the same provide completeprotection from contamination of the medicaments as the person breathesinto the delivery nozzle during eX- halation.

It is, therefore, another important object of the invention to provide acombination nebulizer and insuiilator having more universal applicationthan my prior appliance and which is thus adapted to be used for theinhaling or inward application of medicaments of the particular typerequired by the patient and which conversion may be accomplished withina short period of time negativing the probability of the patientbecoming violently ill or sulfocating before he can properly employ theinstrument.

it is also an important object of the invention to provide a medicalappliance of the character defined wherein the removable nebulizerportion thereof includes a hollow body adapted to contain a liquidmedicament and substantially sealed against contamination by virtue ofthe fact that the exhalation products of the user are not directed ontothe medicament. ln this respect, an additional important object is toprovide a nebulizer as set forth above, wherein the hollow body may besealed during production of the appliance and it is only necessary forthe patient to replace the hollow body when the medicament is depletedfrom the same, or in the alternative, provided with a filler openingpermitting the patient to refill the hollow body as required.

A still further important object of the invention is to provide amedical appliance which may `also be used as an insutllator by thesimple expedient of removing the hollow body adapted to receive theliquid medicament and contained atomization means, and in lieu thereof,inserting a perforated, hollow body in the conduit means of theappliance and which is adapted to receive a quantity of finelycomminuted medicament so that when the currents of air are forcedthrough the appliance, the powdered medicament is forced into the oralor nasal passages of the patient.

Other important objects of the invention include the provision of anovel, L-shaped, tubular conduit forming a part of the delivery meanswhereby the direction of movement of the dispersed medicament is changedto permit more convenient use of the appliance; to the provision ofconduit means of the type referred to above, wherein is included arelatively long tube permitting the administrator of the medicament toremain in spaced relationship to the patient to whom the medicament isbeing administered; to an appliance including filter means disposedbetween the air pressure source and the nebulizer or insuilator portionsof the appliance to prevent contamination of the medicament withmaterials in the air; to a combination nebulizer and insulliatorincluding novel nozzle means for efliciently directing the dispersedmedicament into either the oral cavity or the nasal passages, as isdesired; to a medical appliance as described, which is simple inconstruction, not subject to breakdown, and may be distributed at arelatively low unit cost; and to other important objects and details ofconstruction of the present device which will become obvious or be eX-plained in greater detail as the following speciiication progresses.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a combination nebulizer and insutliatorembodying certain of the concepts of the present invention and havingone type of delivery nozzle connected thereto, portions of the latterbeing in section to reveal details of construction;

FiG. 2 is a side elevational view of the medical appliance shown in FIG.l, with portions thereof being in vertical section to show theconstruction of the same;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, side elevational view of the appliance of FIGS.1 and 2, and disclosing a different type of delivery nozzle as well as apowdered medicament container disposed therein, with portions of thecomponents being in section;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, perspective, exploded view of the L-shapedconduit forming `a part of the delivery means and also illustrating ingreater detail, the perforated container adapted to receive the powderedmedicament;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, perspective, exploded view of the nebulizersection of the appliance as well as the coupling adapted to receivefilter means and thereby removably secured to a source of compressed airand most usually a bulb or the like; and

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of an elongated adaptor tubepermitting application of the medicament from a position spaced from thepatient, with the upper portion of the tube being in section.

The medical appliance broadly enumerated 10 in the drawings, isillustrated in FIGS. l and 2 as a nebulizer and includes as majorcomponents thereof, nebulizer section 12, L-shaped conduit 14, connectedto the outlet end of section 12, a delivery nozzle 16 coupled to theoutlet of conduit 14, and a source of air pressure such as bulb 18.

Nebulizer section 12 includes an outer cylindrical body 2.0 which ispreferably of transparent material, such as a synthetic resin of therelatively rigid type, to thereby permit viewing of the quantity ofmedicament contained within the inner chamber 22 in part defined byopposed, circular end walls 24 and 26 closing opposite ends ofcylindrical body 20, although it is to be noted from FIG. 2, that bothof the end walls 24 and 26 are located inwardly from respective outercircular margins 28 and 30 of'body 20.

Cylindrical body 2t) carries liquid atomizing means broadly designated32 and including an elongated air tube 34 extending longitudinally ofbody 20 substantially along the axis thereof and having an air inlet end36 and an air outlet end 38 disposed externally of respective end walls24 and 26. The air outlet end 38 of tube 34 gradually decreases indiameter as the outer extremity thereof is approached to present anozzle to provide maximum air velocity from air tube 34 in respect tothe diameter thereof. Tubular pipette 40 extending through end wall 24and communicating with chamber 22 adjacent end wall 26, has -a curvedouter end segment 42 terminating within the path of travel of airemanating from nozzle end 38 of tube 34. It is likewise to be noted thatthe curved segment 42 of pipette 40 also decreases in diameter as theouter end is approached.

An important feature of nebulizer section 12 is the fact that theopenings in end walls 24 and 26 receiving tube 34 and pipette 40 aresealed around the respective peripheral surfaces of the latter toprevent entrance of -air into -chamber 22 except for the slight openingprovided by the outer open end of pipette 40.

Although it is contemplated that the chamber 22 of body may be lled witha liquid medicament at the time of manufacture of nebulizer section 12,it is particularly contemplated that the side wall of body 20 beprovided with a liller opening 44 normally closed by a resilient,removable stopper `46.

The cylindrical marginal portion of body 20 is externally threaded andadapted to complementally engage the internal threads of tubularcoupling 48 having an integral tubular Vboss 50 in alignment with theaxis of the main body of copling 48 and also body 28 when coupling 48and section 12 are threadably interconnected. An integral, inwardlyextending flange 52 within coupling 48 presents an upwardly facingshoulder 54 adapted to support a perforated disc 56, a circular sheet offilter paper 58 and a second perforated circular disc 60 in that order,it being observed in FIG. 2 that the lower marginal edge 30 of body 20engages the normally uppermost surface of disc 60 and thereby forces thelatter into tight engagement with lter 58 which is in turn pressed`against the proximal surface of shoulder 54. Discs 56 and 60 which havea number of radially disposed perforations 62 therethrough also havecentral, normally aligned, relatively large openings 64 which arenormally in alignment with the bore 66 of boss 58 as well as the airinlet end 36 of tube 34.

Bulb 18 is of conventional construction and will not be described indetail although it can be seen in FIG. 2 that the upper tubular end 68is telescoped over boss 50 and is maintained in substantially tightfrictional engagement therewith by virtue of the longitudinally spaced,circumferentially extending, outwardly projecting flanges 70 integralwith boss 50 of coupling 48.

The circular marginal portion 72 of elbow 14 is externally threaded tocomplementally engage the internal threads of margin 28 of cylindricalbody 20 while the opposite cylindrical portion of elbow 14 has a sleeve76 .telescoped thereover and maintained in proper disposition byfriction or a suitable adhesive, if desired, The outer edge of sleeve 76is provided with a pair of opposed, substantially J-shaped, oppositelydirected notches 78 which are adapted to receive respective coaxial pins80 projecting outwardly from the outer surface of main tubular portion82 of nozzle 16. As best shown in FIG. 1, nozzle 16 is of substantiallyY-shaped configuration and thereby includes a pair of tubular branches84 each having tubular nostril adaptors 86 on the outer ends thereof. Itcan be seen that adaptors 86 are substantially larger in diameter thanrespective branches 84 at the zone of juncture thereof, but decrease inelfective diameter as the outer ends of each adaptor 86 is approached.Of particular significance is the fact that the inner opposed surfaces88 of adaptors 86 are in substantial alignment with proximal wallportions of branches 84 while the opposed outer segments 90 of adaptors86 flare outwardly at the zones where adaptors 86 join correspondingbranches 84 to thereby permit nozzle 16 to be employed by personsregardless of the size of their nasal pasages. Nozzle 16 may be employedto direct dispersed medicament into the nostrils of babies as well aschildren of all ages and adults.

In the operation of appliance 10 as a nebulizer and in the formillustrated in FIG. 2, bulb 18 is squeezed to cause a blas-t of air tobe directed through bore 66 of boss 50 into the chamber presented bytubular coupling 48, thence `through lter discs 56 and 60 and paper 58,and finally, into tube 34 extending through chamber 22. As the blast ofair emanates from nozzle end 38, a zone of reduced pressure is producedwithin pipette 40 and thereby chamber 22 whereby a quantity of theliquid medicament contained within nebulizer section 12 is vaporized andforced outwardly through the open discharge segment of pipette 40. Elbow14 changes the direction of the vaporized medicament and the same isforced into the nasal passages of the user through nozzle 16 andsimultaneously through respective branches 84 and nostril adaptors 86.

A modified medical appliance denominated constitutes an insutflator andis illustrated in FIG. 3. Coupling 148, and identical with coupling 48of appliance 10, is adapted to receive a ilexible bulb 118 ofconventional character, while elbow 114, also identical with elbow 14,is threadably connected directly to coupling 148. The nozzle 116 adaptedfor oral administration of a medicament and removably connected tosleeve 176 of elbow 114, in the same manner that nozzle 16 is coupledwith sleeve 76 of elbow 14, has an outer portion 192 of reduceddimensions and of greater width than height to permit the user to placemouthpiece 192 within his mouth for most eliicient inhalation or inwardapplication of a medicament.

Powder container 194 and adapted to receive a quantity of finelycomminuted medicament, includes a pair of cup-shaped members 195 and 196disposed in telescoped relationship and having opposed, spaced,perforated, circular end walls 197 and 198 respectively. End wall 197 isof a diameter substantially equal to the internal diameter of sleeve 176whereby the outer peripheral margin of end wall 196 is normally engagedby opposed circular margins of circular portion 174 of elbow 114 andnozzle 116 respectively.

It is to be understood that nozzle 16 may be substituted for nozzle 116,if it is desired, to inhale or inwardly ap ply a powdered medicamentinto the nasal passages. By the same token, nozzle 116 may besubstituted for nozzle 16 when the patient desires to direct atomizedmedicament into the oral cavity.

A third type of nozzle 216 is illustrated in FIG. 6 and comprises arelatively long tube 282 having a pair of opposed. coaxial pins 280projecting from the outer surface thereof at the end 299 of tube 282whereby tube 282 may be releasably connected to sleeve 76 or sleeve 176of -appliances 10 or 110 respectively, if desired'. Normally outermostend 286 of tube 282 is externally threaded to complementally receive Aanintern-ally threaded cap 288 having a number of perforations 290 in thenormally outermost transverse wall 292 thereof.

If desired, cup-shaped member 195 may be inserted in cap 288, asillustrated in FIG. 6, with the upper circular margin of end 286 of tube282 bearing against the outer peripheral margin of end wall 197 tothereby force member '195 into engagement with the inner surface of endwall 292.

It is apparent that with tube 282 connected to elbow 14 or 114, thephysician or other person may administer the medicament either in liquidor powdered form and into the oral or nasal passages from a position insafely spaced relationship to the patient.

It is further to be pointed out that in certain circumstances, it may bedesirable to use the powder receiving members 197 and 198 in conjunctionwith nebulizer section 12. The perforated end walls 197 and 198 serve tomaintain the -atomized liquid in a dispersed condition notwithstandingthe relatively long passage from the outlet of pipette 40 to the outeropenings of nozzles 16, 116 or 216.

Having thus `described the invention what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

In a medical appliance for inhaling or inwardly applying medicaments, acylindrical body having a pair of opposed end walls whereby to define amedicament receiving chamber, said end Walls being spaced inwardly fromcorresponding end margins of the body; air supply means vcoupled to saidbody at one end thereof and in cornmunication therewith; a couplingjoining said air supply means to said body, said coupling beingconnected to one end margin of the body in such a manner as to define aspace between the end Wall of the body corresponding to said one endmargin and a wall of the coupling; til-ter means disposed within saidspace and in the path of travel of air from said supply means to saidbody; a delivery conduit secured to the other end margin of said bodyand in communication with vthe interior of the body; a nozzle carried bysaid conduit and in communication therewith; and atomization meanscarried by the body and including an elongated vair tube extendingthrough the body and having air inlet and air outlet ends disposedexternally of respective end walls of the body, with 'the air vinlet endextending into said space, said air outlet end extending into theconduit, and a delivery pipette extending through the end wall of thebody adjacent the `outlet end of the air tube, communicating with theinterior of Athe chamber and disposed with the outlet end thereofterminating within the path of air emanating from the outlet end of theair tube.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS 918,762Meinecke Apr. 20, 1909 1,263,079 Leon Apr. 16, 1919 1,732,566McKend-rick Oct. 22, 1929 2,102,037 Schwartz Dec. 14, `1937 2,245,872Pitts June 17, 1941 2,421,359 Sutherland May 27, 1947 2,485,184 BlackmanOct. 18, 1949 2,829,642 De Melfy Apr. 8, 1958

